Category:Aircraft Physics

Silent Wings simulates the movement of the aircraft by dividing the aircraft into several force-generating elements, and integrating these forces acting on the aircraft mass over time. Several text files are used to define the physics of an aircraft:

• mass.dat defines the mass and inertia properties of the aircraft, including water ballast and fuel
• aero.dat defines the aerodynamic parts of the aircraft such as airfoils, wings and fuselages
• gear.dat defines the parts that interacts with the ground, such as the landing gear and hardpoints at the fuselage
• engine.dat can define an optional engine with propeller
• controls.dat defines the cockpit controls
• autopilot.dat defines the properties of the aircraft autopilot

We recommend taking a look on existing aircraft models and study their .dat files to see how things are done.

Besides these files you will also need a set of airfoil polars in the airfoils directory.